The Romanian Minister of National Defence, Mircea Dusa, discussed today, February 3, over the phone, with his Canadian counterpart, Mr. Robert Nicholson. The conversation was related to NATO Defence Ministerial to take place in Brussels, on February 5.

Minister Dusa thanked his counterpart for the excellent defence cooperation between Romania and Canada, that also resulted in the deployment of the Canadian contingent of F-18 fighters to Campia Turzii and the exercises conducted in common with the Romanian Air Force in summer, last year, with a view to implementing NATO Assurance Measures at the Eastern border of the Alliance. 'The presence of the six F-18 fighters to Campia Turzii puts into practice the solidarity principle and the firm commitment of Canada to NATO's sustained efforts to ensure the security of the allied nations', Mircea Dusa pointed out.

The two ministers discussed the stage of implementing the decisions adopted at the NATO Summit in Wales, as a central element on the Defence Ministerial agenda. Both the Romanian and the Canadian defence minister stressed the importance of the agreed calendar, concerning the Action Plan to augment the operational capability of the Alliance.

In turn, the Canadian defence minister thanked his Romanian counterpart for the prompt response of the Romanian authorities in ensuring the necessary conditions for the deployment of the Canadian contingent and to conduct jointly the military exercises. He said he was confident the two countries would strengthen the existing bilateral relations by making the most of new development opportunities.

As to bilateral cooperation, the Romanian defence minister stressed the importance of the high level political and military dialogue. 'The two countries have excellent opportunities to train in common their Special Operations Forces and to cooperate also in the more general context offered by the initiative of the Interconnected Forces', minister Dusa said.

MoND Press Office